If prompted, select Horizontal or Vertical for the swimlane orientation and click OK. You can change the orientation on the Cross-Functional Flowchart tab.

The template opens with swimlanes already on the page.

Add swimlanes

There are several ways to add swimlanes to your diagram:

Right-click a swimlane header, and then click Insert ‘Swimlane’ Before or Insert ‘Swimlane’ After in the shortcut menu.

Hold the pointer over a corner of one of the swimlanes. Click the little Insert ‘Swimlane’ Shape arrow that appears.

On the Cross-functional Flowchart tab, in the Insert group, click Swimlane. A swimlane is added after the selected swimlane, or at the end if no swimlane is selected.

From the Cross-Functional Flowchart Shapes stencil, drag a swimlane shape and drop it where you want it to appear.

Change the text

To label the diagram and swimlanes, click a shape that contains placeholder text, and then type the label.

To reposition a label, on the Home tab in the Tools group, click the Text Block tool, click a label, and then drag it to a new location.

To change the orientation of the label text, click the Cross-functional Flowchart tab, and then in the Design group, click Rotate Lane Label.

Organize and group shapes

To indicate phases in your process, use Separator lines from the Cross-Functional Flowchart Shapes stencil. Drop one on the swimlanes to mark a phase change (such as moving from Milestone 1 to Milestone 2). To change the label, type while the phase is selected.

Use Containers to add a border that surrounds groups of related shapes. First select the shapes you want to group, and then on the Insert tab, in the Diagram Parts group, click Container and choose one from the gallery.

Rearrange the swimlanes

On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click the Pointer Tool.

Click the heading of the swimlane you want to move, so the swimlane is selected.

The pointer should display the Move icon.

Drag the swimlane and drop it where you want it.

Shapes that are contained by the swimlane will move with it. To check whether a shape is contained and not just sitting under the swimlane, select the shape. The swimlane will glow with a slight highlight if the shape is contained. If a shape is not contained but you want it to be, move the shape a little and the swimlane will recognize it.

Delete a swimlane

Click the heading of the swimlane you want to delete, and then press DELETE. All the shapes contained in the swimlane are also deleted.